THE FINAL draft of the National Youth Policy will soon be completed.

This is according to Minister of Culture, Youth and Sport Dr Frank Anthony who made the disclosure during a presentation in the National Assembly on Monday.

The minister said that during 2013 and into 2014, extensive consultations were held to formulate the National Youth Policy. A policy steering committee was formed to guide the process, and a stakeholder group was formed from a representative sample of young people to bring the views of their peers.

In addition, about 1000 questionnaires were distributed across Guyana to solicit the views of young people about what they would like in a new National Youth Policy.
Dr Anthony said: ”We now envisage that, based on the policy, a number of new initiatives will come on stream, including creating new structural mechanisms for coordination and implementation, and addressing concerns and priorities that have been outlined in the document.

“With the implementation of these programmes,” he added, “this year promises to be another good year for the young people in our country.”

Dr Anthony thanked the Commonwealth Youth Program (CYP), which he said did extensive work on making the new National Youth Policy a reality.
By Clifford Stanley